Two playoff hopefuls, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, kept their campaigns alive with crucial wins in Sunday’s IPL 2025 doubleheader. While PBKS beat Lucknow Super Giants by 37 runs in Dharamshala, KKR edged past Rajasthan Royals by just one run in a thriller at Eden Gardens.
Punjab Kings climbed to second in the table thanks to a blazing 91 off 48 balls from Prabhsimran Singh and a fiery opening spell by Arshdeep Singh, who dismissed Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran inside the powerplay.
Everyone stepped up at the right time. We weren’t thinking about stats or totals—just focused on execution. The way each player knew their role and delivered was top-notch.
Prabhsimran's knock, featuring six fours and seven sixes, set the tone. Useful cameos from Josh Inglis (30), Iyer himself (45), and Shashank Singh (33*) powered PBKS to 236/5 — their 11th 200-plus total in IPL history. Arshdeep's 3-16 ensured LSG could only reach 199/7, despite a valiant 74 from Ayush Badoni.
PBKS recorded their first win in Dharamshala in 12 years and now trail leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru by just one point.
We dropped crucial catches and didn’t read the length early on. But the dream is still alive. We win the next three, and who knows?
Brief Scores: PBKS 236/5 (Prabhsimran Singh 91, Iyer 45; Akash Singh 2-30) LSG 199/7 (Badoni 74, Samad 45; Arshdeep Singh 3-16) Result: PBKS won by 37 runs
KKR Survive Final-Ball Drama to Stay in the Hunt
Earlier in the day, Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a dramatic one-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Kolkata, defending 206 thanks to a last-ball run-out.
Andre Russell’s unbeaten 57 off 25 balls anchored KKR’s innings, aided by contributions from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (35), Ajinkya Rahane (30), and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44).
We treated this like a final. Everyone gave their all. I knew I could catch up later, so I took my time—and it worked.
Chasing 207, Rajasthan looked on course as captain Riyan Parag smashed 95 off 45 balls. Despite a spirited late charge by Shubham Dubey (29), the Royals fell agonisingly short. Needing three off the final ball, Dubey could only manage a single before being run out by Rinku Singh's sharp throw.
It was a miscalculation on my part. We had the match in our hands—we should have finished it.
Brief Scores: KKR 206/4 (Russell 57*, Raghuvanshi 44; Archer 1-30) RR 205/8 (Parag 95, Jaiswal 34; Chakaravarthy 2-32) Result: KKR won by one run.
